Simone

The march issue of Newsmax magazine includes my profile of Mark Simone, the go-to sub for Hannity, Imus and Levin.  Here are some excerpts from the Director’s Cut…

Colleagues praise Simone as talented, versatile, reliable and professional.  But the real key to his success is humility.  A substitute host’s job is simple enough: Keep it between the ditches until the beloved star gets back – don’t take chances, don’t show off.  Yet very few radio pros are willing or able to execute that direction.  Ego and ambition muck it up.

“It’s not easy to be a fill-in guy,” says Simone’s boss, WABC-AM Program Director Laurie Cantillio. “Mark has a good understanding of that role.  He never tries to upstage the host.  He understands the audience for each show and adjusts accordingly.”

“A lot of guys try to make a name for themselves [when they fill-in],” says Simone.  “The secret is that you have to know the [regular host] really well and with every decision ask yourself what that host would do.”

Simone prides himself on his ability to perform on short notice, like the time he got called at 2:40pm to fill-in for Hannity at 3pm.  An excellent memory for facts and figures dramatically reduces the amount of time he needs to prepare for a show, he says.

“Warner Wolf said I’m like a relief pitcher,” says Simone, referring to the veteran New York sportscaster and “Imus in the Morning” cast member.  “The starters need a couple hours to warm-up, but I can be ready in eight pitches.”

Simone’s easy confidence and versatility flow from a lifetime of varied experience…  Simone got his first taste of talk radio in 1980 at a rock station, WPIX-FM in New York City. “I worked a Sunday shift and I noticed the studio had phone lines and a delay system,” he says.  “So, I started taking calls.”  Thus was born “The Simone Phone,” which he believes was the first FM talk show.

Simone eventually moved to WNEW-AM, where he did a comedy show with Steve Allen that was briefly syndicated.  That  experience paid off a few years later when he was working at WABC, Hannity’s flagship.  As Simone recalls, he was tapped to fill-in for Hannity primarily because of his experience doing a network program, which requires the host to execute with precise timing.

Simone describes himself as a right-of-center independent and acknowledges that his political views aren’t fully aligned with those of Hannity and Levin.  But he keeps any differences to himself when he’s subbing. “If I disagree with the host [on a topic], I just stay away from that issue,” he says. “You aren’t there to promote your own agenda.  You wouldn’t come on a music show and play a different type of music.”

So, has the ultimate back-up ever thought about joining the starting line-up with his own network show?  Simone says he’s been approached with both local and national opportunities but “nothing was really appealing.”

The Super Sub pauses, chuckles and adds,  “But that might be less work, actually.”

Newsmax.com

News/talk: the Buick of radio formats.  Man, this really is a list of Little Limbaughs — a group dominated by older white guys who have been behind the microphone for a very long time.  While all the honorees are talented, and many have great ratings, this list fuels concern for the format’s future.  What is being done to insure that news/talk doesn’t meet the fate of Beautiful Music?Are these guys going to attract the next wave of talk listeners?  If so, how?  And when are they going to start?  If not, is anyone investing in the next generation of talkers — and exploring how talk programming must evolve to stay relevant to a younger audience?

WSB's Boortz

Where’s Boortz?  Newsmax might argue that WSB/Atlanta’s  Neal Boortz is a syndicated host, but he’s really an Atlanta talker.  Boortz does an hour-and-a-half of Atlanta-centric talk every day and never hesitates  to bring up Atlanta-generated topics during his network hours.  He is the once-and-probably-forever king of Atlanta talk radio.

Herman Cain?  The WSB evening host is smart and worldly-wise.  But Cain’s presentation and content are a siren-song to the elderly.  The Cox Radio station’s decision to hire Cain instead of building for the future at night was curious, to say the least.

No Bill Cunningham from WLW/Cincinnati?  Which leads to…

Where are the Mid-majors?  Talk radio hosts often have truly amazing influence in cities such as  New Orleans, Richmond and Charlotte.  Yet there is only one Little Limbaugh from outside the top 21 markets –  KFAB/Omaha’s Tom Becka.